Transversely movable hinge and folding device utilizing the same

ABSTRACT

A transversely movable hinge is mounted between a base and a cover of a folding device and has a moving assembly. The moving assembly is connected to an expansion device via a linking rod. Therefore, when the folding device is opened, the expansion device is driven to extend and is convenient for users. When the folding device is closed, the expansion device is driven to retract for saving space.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a hinge, especially to a hinge for afolding device. When the folding device is opened or closed, the hingecan move components transversely at the same time.

2. Description of the Prior Arts

A folding device, such as a notebook computer or a cell phone, generallyincludes a base, a cover and a hinge. The hinge connects the base andthe cover to allow the cover to rotate relative to the base for savingspace and enhancing portability.

U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,633,744, 6,532,146, and 7,620,425 disclose aconventional folding device having a plurality of foldable displays. Thedisplays can be functioned as an output or/and input interface, and ithas been widely used for years. However, the foldable displays increasefunctions but must be opened by a user's hand after the folding deviceis opened, so they are inconvenient to use.

Moreover, U.S. Patent Publication No. 2010/0251518 discloses anotherconventional folding device having a hinge that can move a covertransversely when the folding device is opened. However, the foldingdevice disclosed in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2010/0251518 does nothave any additional display or expansion device so cannot increasefunctions.

U.S. Patent Publication No. 2006/0112516 discloses another conventionalfolding device having a hinge assembly, for joining a flip cover sectionto a body section of a foldable electronic device, includes a shaft witha pin pushed by a spring to slide in the sliding slot of a sleeve so asa way to open the folding device. However, this patent does not provideadditional display.

To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention provides atransversely movable hinge to mitigate or obviate the aforementionedproblems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The main object of the present invention is to provide a transverselymovable hinge having a main bracket and a moving assembly. The movingassembly is connected to the main bracket and has a rotating unit, adriving unit and a driven unit. The rotating unit is mounted rotatablyon the main bracket. The driving unit is connected to the main bracket.The driven unit is connected to the rotating unit and abuts the drivingunit. The rotating unit drives the driven unit to rotate synchronously.The driving unit drives the driven unit to move transversely. Therefore,when a folding device with the transversely movable hinge is opened, anexpansion device can be driven to extend for convenient use.

Other objectives, advantages and novel features of the invention willbecome more apparent from the following detailed description when takenin conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a transversely movable hinge inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the transversely movable hingein FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a driving wheel of the transverselymovable hinge in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a driven wheel of the transverselymovable hinge in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a side view of the transversely movable hinge in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is an operational side view of the transversely movable hinge inFIG. 1, showing a rotating unit and a driven unit rotating;

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of the transversely movable hingein FIG. 1 with a linking rod and an expansion device;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a folding device in accordance with thepresent invention, shown opened;

FIGS. 9 and 10 are perspective views of the folding device in FIG. 8,shown closed;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the folding device in FIG. 8, shownopened; and

FIGS. 12 and 13 are perspective views of another embodiment of a foldingdevice in accordance with the present invention, shown opened.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, a transversely movable hinge inaccordance with the present invention comprises a main bracket 10, amoving assembly 20, a torsion assembly 30 and an auxiliary bracket 100.

The main bracket 10 has a mounting panel 11 and a connecting panel 12.The connecting panel 12 vertically protrudes from the mounting panel 11and has two receiving recesses 121.

The moving assembly 20 is connected to the main bracket 10 and has arotating unit, a driving unit and a driven unit. The rotating unit ismounted rotatably on the main bracket 10 and has a pintle 21 and arotating bracket 22. The pintle 21 is mounted rotatably through theconnecting panel 12 of the main bracket 10. The rotating bracket 22 ismounted securely around the pintle 21.

The driving unit is connected to the main bracket 10 and has a drivingwheel 23. The driving wheel 23 is mounted securely on the main bracket10, is mounted around the pintle 21 and has two side surfaces, twoclamping protrusions 231, two driving parts 232 and two driving gaps233. The clamping protrusions 231 protrude from one of the side surfacesof the driving wheel 23 and engage the receiving recesses 121 of themain bracket 10 to mount the driving wheel 23 on the main bracket 10securely. The driving parts 232 protrude respectively from the otherside surface of the driving wheel 23. With further reference to FIG. 3,each driving part 232 has an inclined surface 232 a connected to acurved surface 232 b. Each driving gap 233 is defined between oneinclined surface 232 a of one of the driving parts 232 and one curvedsurface 232 b of the other driving part 232.

The driven unit is connected to the rotating unit and abuts the drivingunit. The rotating unit drives the driven unit to rotate synchronously.The driving unit drives the driven unit to move transversely. The drivenunit has a driven wheel 24, a driven bracket 25 and a resilient element26. The driven wheel 24 is mounted non-rotatably and axially movablyaround the pintle 21, abuts the driving wheel 23 and has a side surface,two driven parts 241 and two driven gaps 242. With further reference toFIG. 4, the driven parts 241 protrude respectively from the side surfaceof the driven wheel 24 and correspond to the driving gaps 233 of thedriving wheel 23. Each driven part 241 has an inclined surface 241 aconnected to a curved surface 241 b. Each driven gap 242 is definedbetween one inclined surface 241 a of one of the driven parts 241 andone curved surface 241 b of the other driven part 241. The drivenbracket 25 is mounted non-rotatably and axially movably around thepintle 21, abuts the driven wheel 24 and has a connecting panel 251having an elongated hole 251 a. The resilient element 26 is mountedaround the pintle 21 and abuts the driven bracket 25 so that the drivenbracket 25 is located between the resilient element 26 and the drivenwheel 24.

The torsion assembly 30 is connected to the moving assembly 20 and hastwo positioning wheels 31, multiple disk-shape springs 32 and twofastening nuts 33. The positioning wheels 31 are mounted around thepintle 21. One of the positioning wheels 31 has grooves and the otherpositioning wheel 31 has protrusions corresponding to the grooves forproviding a positioning effect. The disk-shape springs 32 are mountedaround the pintle 21 and abut the positioning wheels 31 for providingtorque force. The fastening nuts 33 are mounted securely on two ends ofthe pintle 21.

The auxiliary bracket 100 is mounted around the pintle 21 adjacent tothe torsion assembly 30 so that the structure of the present inventionis balanced.

With reference to FIGS. 5 and 6, when the rotating bracket 22 rotatesrelative to the main bracket 10, the pintle 21 and the driven wheel 24are driven to rotate synchronously. Because the inclined surfaces 241 aand curved surfaces 241 b of the driven wheel 24 correspond to and abutthe inclined surfaces 232 a and curved surfaces 232 b of the drivingwheel 23, when the rotating bracket 22 starts to rotate relative to themain bracket 10, the driven wheel 24 is also driven to move transverselyto push the driven bracket 25 and the resilient element 26. Then, whenthe driven wheel 24 returns to an original position, the resilientelement 26 releases its resilient force to the driven bracket 25 to itsoriginal position as well. Besides, the disk-shape springs 32 of thetorsion assembly 30 force the positioning wheels 31 to rub against eachother during rotation of the hinge for maintaining rotating bracket 22at a desired angle with respect to the main bracket 10.

With reference to FIGS. 7 and 8, a folding device in accordance with thepresent invention comprises a base 40, a cover 50, at least onetransversely movable hinge as described, at least one linking rod 60 andat least one expansion device 70.

The at least one hinge is mounted between the base 40 and the cover 50.The mounting panel 11 of the main bracket 10 and the auxiliary bracket100 are mounted securely to the base 40. The moving assembly 20 isconnected to the cover 50. The rotating bracket 22 of the movingassembly 20 is mounted securely to the cover 50.

In a preferred embodiment, the at least one linking rod 60 is mountedpivotally to the cover 50 at a fulcrum 601. Two ends of the at least onelinking rod 60 are respectively connected to the at least one expansiondevice 70 and the moving assembly 20; specifically, two ends of the atleast one linking rod 60 are respectively and pivotally connected to theexpansion device 70 and the driven bracket 25 (or the driven wheel 24)of the moving assembly 20. A pin is mounted through the elongated hole251 a of the driven bracket 25 of the moving assembly 20 and acorresponding end of the at least one linking rod 60. Two ends of aspring 61 are respectively connected to the cover 50 and the fulcrum 601of the at least one linking rod 60. The spring 61 provides resilientforce to facilitate the expansion device 70 to extend out smoothly. Thecover 50 has a main screen 51 covering the at least one linking rod 60and the at least one expansion device 70. The cover 50 further has sliderails 52 to allow the at least one expansion device 70 to be slidablymounted within the cover 50.

With reference to FIGS. 12 and 13, in another preferred embodiment, theat least one linking rod 60 is mounted pivotally to the base 40. Twoends of the at least one linking rod 60 are respectively connected tothe at least one expansion device 70 and the moving assembly 20. Thebase 40 has a keyboard 41 covering the at least one linking rod 60 andthe at least one expansion device 70. The base 40 further has sliderails 42 to allow the at least one expansion device 70 to be slidablymounted within the base 40.

With reference to FIG. 7, the at least one expansion device 70 has twopanels 71 pivotally connected to each other by pivots 72 and sleeves 73.The at least one expansion device 70 may be an input device (e.g. anadditional keyboard or a touch screen) or may be an output device (e.g.an additional screen or a speaker).

With reference to FIGS. 6, 9 and 10, when the cover 50 is closedrelative to the base 40, the driven parts 241 of the driven wheel 24engage the driving gaps 233 of the driving wheel 23 and the at least oneexpansion device 70 is received within the cover 50. The at least oneexpansion device 70 retracted within the cover 50 saves space so thefolding device is convenient to carry and store due to its small volume.

With reference to FIGS. 5, 8 and 11, when the cover 50 is openedrelative to the base 40, the rotating bracket 22, the pintle 21 and thedriven wheel 24 of the moving assembly 20 are driven to rotate and thedriven wheel 24 is also driven to move transversely. The moving drivenwheel 24 drives the linking rod 60 to sway at the fulcrum 601 so the atleast one expansion device 70 extends out of the cover 50, enablingconvenient application of the present invention.

It should be noted that the present invention provides a hinge having amoving assembly 20 (i.e. the driven wheel 24 or the driven bracket 25)that can drive the linking rod 60 to sway at the fulcrum 601 so as topush the expansion device 70 out. However, there are various ways todrive one end of liking rod 60 to achieve the same function as above.For example, hinge device as disclosed in U.S. Patent Publication No.2006/0112516 teaches one pin sliding in a sliding slot of a sleeve. Itcan be conceived that the pin is connected to one end of liking rod 60of the present invention as so push the expansion device 70 out when thecover 50 is opened.

Another example is disclosed in U.S. Patent Publication No.2010/0251518, wherein the first connecting member can be liked to thelinking rod 60 so as to push the expansion device 70 out. These twoexamples are easily to be combined into the present invention for thoseskilled in the art.

Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the presentinvention have been set forth in the foregoing description, togetherwith details of the structure and features of the invention, thedisclosure is illustrative only. Changes may be made in the details,especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts withinthe principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by thebroad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims areexpressed.

1. A transversely movable hinge comprising: a main bracket; and a moving assembly connected to the main bracket and having a rotating unit mounted rotatably on the main bracket; a driving unit connected to the main bracket; and a driven unit connected to the rotating unit and abutting the driving unit; wherein the rotating unit drives the driven unit to rotate synchronously and the driving unit drives the driven unit to move transversely.
 2. The transversely movable hinge as claimed in claim 1, wherein the rotating unit has a pintle mounted rotatably through the main bracket; a driving unit has a driving wheel mounted securely on the main bracket and mounted around the pintle of the rotating unit; and a driven unit has a driven wheel mounted non-rotatably and axially movably around the pintle and abutting the driving wheel of the driving unit.
 3. The transversely movable hinge as claimed in claim 2, wherein the driving wheel of the driving unit has a side surface; and at least one driving part protruding from the side surface of the driving wheel and each one of the at least one driving part having an inclined surface connected to a curved surface; and the driven wheel of the driven unit has a side surface facing the driving unit; and at least one driven part protruding from the side surface of the driven wheel and each one of the at least one driven part having an inclined surface connected to a curved surface.
 4. The transversely movable hinge as claimed in claim 3, wherein the driving wheel of the driving unit has two driving parts and two driving gaps, each driving gap defined between one inclined surface of one of the driving parts and one curved surface of the other driving part; and the driven wheel of the driven unit has two driven parts and two driven gaps, each driven gap defined between one inclined surface of one of the driven parts and one curved surface of the other driven part.
 5. The transversely movable hinge as claimed in claim 4, wherein the rotating unit has a rotating bracket mounted securely around the pintle.
 6. The transversely movable hinge as claimed in claim 4, wherein the driven unit has a driven bracket mounted non-rotatably and axially movably around the pintle of the rotating unit and abutting the driven wheel.
 7. The transversely movable hinge as claimed in claim 6, wherein the driven unit has a resilient element mounted around the pintle of the rotating unit so the driven bracket is located between the resilient element and the driven wheel.
 8. The transversely movable hinge as claimed in claim 7, wherein the driven bracket of the driven unit has a connecting panel.
 9. The transversely movable hinge as claimed in claim 8, wherein the connecting panel of the driven bracket of the driven unit has an elongated hole.
 10. The transversely movable hinge as claimed in claim 1 further having a torsion assembly connected to the moving assembly.
 11. The transversely movable hinge as claimed in claim further having a torsion assembly connected to the moving assembly and having two positioning wheels mounted around the pintle of the rotating unit, one of the positioning wheels having grooves and the other positioning wheel having protrusions corresponding to the grooves; multiple disk-shape springs mounted around the pintle of the rotating unit and abutting the positioning wheels; and two fastening nuts mounted securely on two ends of the pintle of the rotating unit.
 12. The transversely movable hinge as claimed in claim 11 further having an auxiliary bracket mounted around the pintle of the rotating unit adjacent to the torsion assembly.
 13. A folding device comprising: a base; a cover; at least one hinge as claimed in claim 1 mounted between the base and the cover, the main bracket mounted securely to the base and the moving assembly connected to the cover; and at least one linking rod mounted pivotally to the cover, two ends of the at least one linking rod respectively connected to at least one expansion device and the moving assembly of the at least one hinge and the cover having a main screen covering the at least one linking rod and the at least one expansion device.
 14. The folding device as claimed in claim 13 further having a spring and two ends of the spring respectively connected to the cover and the at least one linking rod.
 15. The folding device as claimed in claim 14, wherein the moving assembly of the at least one hinge has a driven bracket having a connecting panel having an elongated hole and a pin is mounted through the elongated hole of the moving assembly and a corresponding end of the at least one linking rod.
 16. The folding device as claimed in claim 14, wherein the moving assembly of the at least one hinge has a rotating bracket mounted securely to the cover.
 17. A folding device comprising: a base; a cover; at least one hinge as claimed in claim 1 mounted between the base and the cover, the main bracket mounted securely to the base and the moving assembly connected to the cover; and at least one linking rod mounted pivotally to the base, two ends of the at least one linking rod respectively connected to at least one expansion device and the moving assembly of the at least one hinge and the base having a keyboard covering the at least one linking rod and the at least one expansion device.
 18. The folding device as claimed in claim 17, wherein the moving assembly of the at least one hinge has a rotating bracket mounted securely to the cover; and a driven bracket having a connecting panel having an elongated hole and a pin mounted through the elongated hole of the moving assembly and a corresponding end of the at least one linking rod.
 19. A folding device comprising: a base pivotally connected to a cover; a main bracket mounted securely to the base; a moving assembly connected to the cover and mounted rotatably and movably on the main bracket; an expansion device slidably mounted within the cover; and a linking rod mounted pivotally to the cover and two ends of the linking rod respectively connected to the expansion device and the moving assembly; wherein the moving assembly drives the expansion device to extend out or retract in the cover.
 20. A folding device comprising: a base pivotally connected to a cover; a main bracket mounted securely to the base; a moving assembly connected to the cover and mounted rotatably and movably on the main bracket; an expansion device slidably mounted within the base; and a linking rod mounted pivotally to the base and two ends of the linking rod respectively connected to the expansion device and the moving assembly; wherein the moving assembly drives the expansion device to extend out or retract in the base. 